Vol. XXVl] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 123 



Mosquito Extermination Work in Philadelphia, Pa. 



By HERMAN HORNIG. 



Inasmuch as the extermination of house flies and mos- 

 quitoes is as necessary to the public health and comfort of 

 a large city as pure water and sewers, Philadelphia has tried 

 with a small amount of money to reduce the breeding places 

 of the house and saltmarsh mosquitoes. 



During the summer of 1912, work was started in the south- 

 ern section of the city along the Delaware River on a tract 

 consisting of about 8000 acres of lowlands, which contained 

 railroad embankments, boathouses, truck farms, piggeries, 

 meadows and swamps. The early settlers of the city, who 

 used this land exclusively for pasture and farming, had es- 

 tablished canals and ditches for transportation and drainage. 

 Later generations neglected the farms and helped to build 

 up an industrial centre further north. As a result the water- 

 ways gradually became overgrown with vegetation and filled 

 in with soil. Swamps were therefore created arid mosquitoes 

 found ideal breeding places between the tall reed grasses. 



The ditches near the piggeries were polluted and full of 

 larvae from May until September and the cleaning of these 

 improved conditions remarkably. 



Near the junction of the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers 

 a large amusement park had been erected and owing to the 

 mosquito nuisance a large force of men was employed to 

 abolish breeding places within the premises. Constant oil- 

 ing of the numerous ditches and filling in of waterholes gave 

 gratifying results, permitting park amusements to continue 

 until the end of the season. 



The following year 1913, extermination work was extended 

 over the entire city. During the first few months, lectures on 

 the life history of mosquitoes were given in different locali- 

 ties and in all of the schools, so that the future citizens would 

 know where mosquitoes come from and how to exterminate 

 them. 



In addition all citizens were asked to co-operate as much 

 as possible and mosquito literature was distributed to every 



